RUSH
by Subaki no Yumo
Summary: Naruto succeeded in every goal he'd ever set out to accomplish but one. What good did it do to achieve his dreams if it cost the lives of the precious people who'd helped him along the way? So of course he decided if he couldn't do it right the first time he'd just do it again. I mean, who ever expected Naruto to bend to simple concepts such as time, space, and mortality?Timetravel


RUSH_  
(An alternate/completely_ _rewritten version of What Changes)_

**Chapter Warnings:** Some language, allusions to death  
**Disclaimer: **I most assuredly do not own Naruto; I do, however, own this heavily reconstructed plot.  
**Beta Recognition: **A nod of thanks is bent toward my wonderful beta, **itabitaboo**. For this chapter she mostly helped with the grammar and sentence structure, as well as some of the descriptions. However, she has already contributed greatly to the plot at large. I did not have a beta for What Changes, so this is a new experience.

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_''We've been told all of our lives to learn our history, lest we be doomed to repeat it, but sometimes it might be best to focus less on what changes need to be made and more on what needs to stay the same.'' ~ Subaki no Yumo_ (Ha, yeah, I quoted myself)

* * *

_For the whiskered, little blonde with the delicate sensibilities._

CHAPTER ONE: 

ホームカミング  
Homecoming

Naruto's eyes snapped open to stare intently at the water damaged ceiling of his apartment. He had once attempted to clean those stains, only to put an accidental hole through the weak fixture and cause water from a clogged upstairs toilet to drench him completely. He remembered the experience clearly, including the two hours that it took him to scrub the rancid smell from himself and his clothes in a river. Of course, he was only in a river because he didn't want to waste all the water it would take in his shower.

He laid on his lumpy old bed now, the mattress of which should have been replaced years ago. He turned his head slowly and studied his room with critical eyes. After several minutes, he looked back up to the ceiling, thinking that he would really need to figure out a way to fix that problem when the time came. The hole he would make there a year from now would lead up to a dreadful insect problem, and it would be best to put that future issue to rest.

The only reason that he hadn't leapt out of bed already was because his body felt as if it would fall apart if he did. Every part of him ached severely, like he had just completed hours upon hours of harsh physical labor.

_'Ugh,' _he groaned mentally._ 'But I can't just lay here. I've got a mission to complete,' _he reminded himself inwardly.

As difficult as it was, he managed to push himself up into a sitting position, his muscles protesting relentlessly every single second of the brief movement. He threw the covers impatiently off of himself and then clapped his hand over his mouth to muffle the pained screech bursting from his lips at the abrupt movement. It felt as if his arm was on fucking fire.

Panting heavily, he carefully scooted off of his bed and stood up on his feet. The cold wooden floor caused a shiver to rush through him while he clutched his inflamed arm scornfully. He edged meticulously toward the kitchen area, trying his absolute best not to trip over or bump into a single thing on his way.

If memory served him correctly, there would be a calendar on the wall in there that he was very interested in seeing. Indeed, there the calendar was and Naruto sighed with relief as he looked it over. Then, because he wanted to be absolutely certain, he padded off to the bathroom. Anticipation was thrumming inside of him as he stopped in front of the mirror, but he closed his eyes before he could see his reflection. He drawled in a deep breath before releasing it with a quick puff and opening his eyes.

"Yes," he whispered. As his excitement intensified, a smile gradually spread across his face until it threatened to rip into his cheeks. "Hell yes! Dattebayo! I made it," he exclaimed. He made to jump up and down with triumph but remembered his blunder with the blanket and decided to leave such actions to a time when he wasn't in so much damn pain.

Then, his eyes clouded with sudden apprehension as he tentatively prodded the presence at the back of his mind.

_'Kurama? Are you still there?"_

He heard a deep baritone rumble through his mind as it spoke, '_**Yes, Gaki, I'm here.'**_

The voice caused Naruto to flinch slightly, as he was unused to it. The fox's tone was despondent and Naruto was sure that he knew exactly why. However, Kurama knew the plan. The best thing that Naruto could do for him was to speed things along.

He trotted back into his room and knelt on his knees beside his bed. He pushed through the pain, as he was determined to get done what needed to be done. Once this was finished, then he would worry about why his entire body hurt so much. He rummaged around underneath the bed and made a sound of satisfaction when his hand closed around a small box made of cardboard. He pulled the white box out into the open and tossed the bottom to the side, keeping the lid in his hands. He flipped the lid over and held it in one hand to place his other palm flat on top of it.

Then, he mumbled a quick, "Kai."

A simple summoning seal in black ink appeared on the surface beneath Naruto's fingers. He placed the lid down on the floor with his hand still over it and made a hand sign. With a small puff of smoke, three scrolls appeared before him. The scrolls were all a plain green color, except for the thin, different colored rings that wrapped around each of them which were red, pink, and blue respectively.

* * *

The damp air was thick with humidity as Naruto brushed his sweaty bangs from his face and pulled his collar away from where it clung uncomfortably to his clammy skin. Still, he wouldn't be deterred. Having grown up in a dingy apartment with no heating or cooling fixtures readily available for the pariah of Leaf, he was used to braving difficult temperature conditions during the harshest of seasons and this late August weather was no different.

Even if he was able to withstand the climate, though, the journey to this mundane household had nearly been his undoing. The aching in his bones never once failed to reprimand him with every step along the way. It was just a simple two story residence that he now stood before, sitting innocently among its neighbors in the dark night. Perhaps, it was the uncomfortable trek to the house that had him in such a dismal mood or, perhaps, it was something more. Nonetheless, Naruto's childish form stood staring at the house with such an expression of foreboding that anyone would think he had, somehow, been personally wronged by the structure.

He was dreading what he was about to do to the point that his stomach began cramping up in preparation to rid itself of its contents, but he began to scale the side of the dwelling, nonetheless. Channeling chakra into his hands and feet took a few precious minutes longer than normal now that his limbs were smaller and his weight much less than that of when he was an adult. Such a drastic adjustment was proving difficult. Sweat was beading on his neck as he strained his blazing muscles, his arms and feet shaking as he more or less crab walked up the house.

He miscalculated the amount of chakra that he pumped into his foot when raising it for better traction and ended up denting the aluminum siding greatly. He cursed as the unexpected loss of footing caused him to slip and hurriedly grabbed the closest object that was immovable, which happened to be the gutter, and winced at the extra strain that it caused his arms. Though grumbling with frustration, he was able to finish his ascent without further mishap.

The window was unlocked, so he slipped in easily. Just as he had expected of a civilian household, there was not one trap in place or any other sort of security at all. He spared a glance around the room and smirked fondly at the way it was decorated. Stuffed animals covered nearly every available surface. Most of them were as big as the child who was sleeping soundly across the room from him.

He stalked across the fluffy magenta carpeting, past the gigantic toy box, and stopped to stare down at the cute, innocent little face. Any previous aggravation diminished within him quickly as he watched her. The little girl's mouth was slightly parted with the smallest dribble of drool leaking out from the side. That hardly affected her cuteness factor, though. Naruto brushed a short lock of pink hair from her forehead and sighed heavily. He really did not want to do this, but he couldn't just leave his friend trapped, either.

His hand twitched, suspended over the child hesitantly. Even as he gazed unblinkingly at the completely untarnished adolescent (_Just a baby, really,_ he thought resentfully), visions flooded his mind. They were terrible glimpses of potential futures that he simply could not allow. He ground his teeth in determination and only briefly clenched his still raised fist. He would complete his mission, even if he had to sacrifice his own standards to so.

He clasped a hand tightly over the child's mouth which instantly woke her. At first, her emerald eyes looked at him uncomprehendingly but, then, they widened in terror. He felt her lips moving beneath his palm. He could hear her muffled attempts to scream for help as she began to struggle beneath her sheets. Naruto leaned across her body to prevent her from getting up and clamped his other hand over her forehead which truly, he distantly noted, did not look at all disproportionate to the rest of her head. He pumped chakra into his hands and the poor child, petrified out of her wits, began to quake beneath him as silent tears ran down her cheeks.

He whispered to her, his voice cracking, "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan."

Then, he obliterated the little girl's mind.

A short while later, Sakura blinked several times and yawned, pulling a hand out from under the covers to rub at her eye. She grimaced when she felt the soreness that suddenly flared up at the movement. She sat up diligently and stared curiously at her hand when she pulled it away from her face. She wiggled her tiny, little fingers experimentally, smiling at the sight. She looked up and jumped in surprise at seeing Naruto standing at her bedside. His face was blank and he seemed to look right through her. Sakura didn't let that deter her in the least bit, though, and she hopped out of bed to throw her arms around his neck, despite the soreness.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, Naruto! You did it! You're a fucking genius," she exclaimed. She felt his arms wrap around her and tug her closer to him as his chest shook with chuckles at her comment.

"Thanks, Sakura," he said, pulling back from her and showing a smile in response to her enthusiasm. All too soon, though, his brow furrowed and his serious attitude returned. "Now, breaking into your house is one thing," he began. "But the Uchiha district is going to be much more complicated. I can't move as stealthily as would be necessary because I'm in a lot of pain. Can you check me out and make sure nothing went wrong," he asked.

Sakura nodded sagely, inwardly concerned. She herself had small aches and pains but it wasn't anything severe. She motioned for him to lay down and he complied, his only complaint being the expression of pain that his features contorted into as he climbed onto her bed. Her hands were immersed in chakra meant for an examination and she took a detailed look at her friend.

"I see the problem," she discerned, focusing on his chakra network system.

"What is it," he asked. She made eye contact with the blond.

"I was right when I said that merging our adult chakra storages with that of our younger selves would be safe, for the most part, since children's systems are so malleable. Your chakra coils are merely adjusting to the sudden addition of the shit load of chakra you have. Since your chakra has probably quadrupled since the time you were five, it's expected that you'd be in significant discomfort," she explained. "I'll soothe as much of the pain as possible for you, though."

Naruto nodded and drooped with relief as the coolness of her healing chakra spread through his coils. As the medic focused on her task, Naruto closed his eyes and turned his face away from her. He was dreading the moment when she would be finished almost as much as he had dreaded showing up here because that meant that they would have to head over to the compound and he was _not_ looking forward to murdering another child.

* * *

For a police force, the Uchiha Compound was oddly lax in security. Skilled as Naruto and Sakura were, it was awkward working with the abrupt change in height, speed, and strength. Quite frankly, they should have been caught back when they were just scoping out the great wall that surrounded the district for weaknesses. Their footfalls were loud to any seasoned ninja's ears, even though they attempted to cushion them.

At one point, they had even jumped directly over the head of a man on patrol who made nothing of the dark silhouettes flying briefly above his head and causing swift shadows to slide over him. The Uchiha's were a proud clan and, clearly, their prestige had gone to their rather bloated heads. This was just pathetic. Naruto didn't voice his musings, though. Instead, he made a mental checklist of improvements that needed to be made if this clan were to have any hope of surviving in the years to come.

Sasuke Uchiha knew very well that he wasn't supposed to be downstairs so late at night, but he was having trouble sleeping and thought that, perhaps, a glass of water would help. He padded across the kitchen's hardwood floor with an empty glass in hand, ignorant of what was coming. He turned the faucet handle and allowed a stream of cool H2O to fill his cup. He lifted the glass to his lips and tipped it back, gulping down the refreshing drink with vigor. Apparently, he'd been really thirsty.

When finished, he left his cup on the counter and yawned hugely as he stretched his arms over his head. He turned to go back to his room but was, suddenly, trapped in a bear hug with his hands clasped at his side. A head of pink hair was pressing against his chest and, before he could express his indignation at the surprise tackle-hug, a set of someone else's hands were pressing firmly against his mouth and forehead. He shouted crossly at the two kids restraining him, but his words came out quiet and distorted so that only the two before him could tell he had even attempted to speak.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," was all that Sasuke heard before there was an immense shock of agonizing, excruciating pain… and, then, there was nothing.

Sakura staggered slightly as the boy slumped against her, throwing her off balance. His body was flopping lifelessly, even as his chest continued to rise and fall in time with his slow breathing.

"Holy, shit," Sakura murmured in disbelief. "It's like he's dead. I can't sense his chakra at all."

Naruto's back was to her while he rummaged through his backpack, but she saw him nod affirmatively against the backdrop of the dark room.

"His soul had to be removed to make room for a new one," Naruto explained. "Since a body's soul and chakra have a direct correlation…" He trailed off, leaving the rest to her own interpretation.

Sakura was, clearly, puzzled. She was wondering just _how_ her friend had removed this little Sasuke's soul and what exactly had happened to it. She figured that she should save her questions for later, though. They only had a limited amount of time to do this. After all, Sasuke's family could wake at any moment and the last thing that they wanted was to be caught intruding in their kitchen, holding a practically vegetating Sasuke.

Naruto located the scroll he was looking for and he held it up to the moonlight shining through the window above the sink to be certain that it was, indeed, the one with the blue ring around it and not the red one. He pulled it open quickly and set it down on the floor, squatting over it.

"Lay him down," he instructed quietly.

Sakura did as she was told, lowering both herself and the boy so that she was sitting with her legs out in front of her while Sasuke's head rested on her lap.

"You guys look so cute like this," Sakura pointed out, smiling brightly as she looked back and forth between the babyish features of her two friends.

Naruto rolled his eyes and made no comment. Instead, he bit his lip and dabbed each finger with a dollop of blood. He pressed them, then, down onto the seal drawn on the scroll and sent a burst of his chakra into it. There was no smoke or any kind of sound and thankfully so. Had there been, Naruto was sure that Itachi would've already been down the stairs and holding kunai at their necks. Instead, as Naruto slowly pulled his hand away from the scroll, a blue, wispy energy followed as it emerged from the storage seal.

Sakura watched in amazement as the energy left the scroll and formed into a small, glowing ball. Naruto hovered his hand above Sasuke's forehead and the energy followed. His hand lowered with minute movements and the energy mimicked him until, eventually, Naruto's hand pressed into the skin of Sasuke's forehead. The energy, then, simply faded right through into Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura observed their friend intently for almost two complete minutes before his eyebrows narrowed and his eyes opened. They leaned in close to him and he looked up at them through bleary eyes.

They seemed to be expecting something, so Sasuke muttered, "Well, since the last thing I remember is sitting in a chair getting my soul sucked out of my body and, suddenly, I'm looking at toddler versions of my old teammates, I'm guessing it worked."

"We're not _toddlers_, you bastard," Naruto hissed. He was very particular about his age. "We're all five."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, lifting his head from Sakura's lap. "So, what now?" He asked.

Naruto tossed the scroll that he had used to seal Sasuke's soul back into his bag and pulled out the red-ringed one, holding it so that they could see. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and allowed it to slide down his face, revealing the stressed dip of his brow.

Sighing, he said uneasily, "We have a slight problem…"

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And... there we have it. As my What Changes readers can see the differences are immediate. I originally stated that I don't think there will be any official pairings in this fic as it focuses on friendship and family, however there will be _hints_ and perhaps minor canon pairings. Review and tell me what you think or what you might like to see here. I'm open to suggestions.

Edit: I had to delete and then upload this story again because of some complications. It was originally posted December 31st.


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